


Avocado: The Death Fruit

by AlexiaBlackbriar13



Series: lexi's summer sizzle fics [10]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Allergies, Anaphylaxis, CEO Oliver Queen, Executive Assistant Felicity Smoak, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Olicity Summer Sizzle, Pre-Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, Queen Consolidated (Arrow TV 2012), Season/Series 02, avocado, some medical inaccuracies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 18:03:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20086459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexiaBlackbriar13/pseuds/AlexiaBlackbriar13
Summary: Moira and Thea come to visit Oliver at QC, worried he’s overworking himself. They bring him lunch but are all unaware that Oliver is allergic to avocado, as he’s never eaten it before. Felicity comes to the rescue when Oliver starts to struggle to breathe and shows signs of anaphylaxis.





	Avocado: The Death Fruit

**Author's Note:**

> for the olicity summer sizzle allergic reaction prompt!

“Unless the CEO’s office has changed location in the last seven months, Oliver’s office should just be around - there he is! Ollie, hi!”

Oliver glances up wearily from the Applied Sciences paperwork he’s reading over for the sixth time, to try and determine whether legal has properly gone over all of the human trials applications correctly. His mother and sister are approaching from the elevator, Thea carrying a bag in her hand, and are waving happily at him. They barely spare Felicity, who is currently slaving over some similar legal contracts at her desk, a passing glance before they enter the archer’s office.

“Mom, Thea,” Oliver greets them tiredly. “I don’t have you penciled in for a meeting... what can I do for you?”

Moira raises an eyebrow. “I wasn’t aware I had to book an appointment to visit my son at the company our family owns and runs.”

“Sorry. It’s been a rough day,” Oliver groans, rubbing his furrowed brow. “It’s great to see you both. I’m just a little pressed for time at the moment, so I’m not sure how much I can spare. Felicity and I have been reviewing department proposals all morning, and we’ve only just got onto Applied Sciences.”

Thea slides into a seat in front of his desk and, much to the archer’s annoyance, kicks her feet up onto it. Shooting her a disapproving glare, Moira delicately sits beside her, but doesn’t say anything about her behavior. It takes a good minute for Oliver to gather and organize all the files he has lying over the countertop so they don’t stare him in the face while he has this conversation.

“Shouldn’t Ms Rochev be reading over these proposals as well?” his mother questions.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Oliver finally leans back for the first time today, his back aching because of how long he’s been bent over. “She’s in Gotham in discussions with Wayne Enterprises about a pharmaceuticals research collaboration, so Felicity and I have been left to do the grunt work. As you can tell, it’s going _wonderfully_,” he says sarcastically.

“And by that, you mean…?” Thea prompts.

“I’ve wanted to throw myself through the window twice in the last hour. The hour before that, it was five times.” He resists the urge to thump his head on the edge of the desk, instead just tilting it back so it rests on the back of his chair. “We’ve been slowly losing the will to live.”

Peering over her shoulder out the glass windows at where Felicity is working, Thea comments, “Yeah, your secretary does look like she’s about to collapse in an existential crisis.”

“Executive assistant,” Oliver corrects automatically. “And Felicity has probably gone over more contracts than me, considering how fast she can read. It’s admirable how she’s holding up, considering the circumstances.” He sits up straighter so he can raise his chin and chance over his desk curiously. “What’s in the bag?”

Moira offers it to him with a soft smile. “We thought you might appreciate a lunch delivery. Raisa made extra salad and packed it up for you.” She pauses and then apologizes, “We, unfortunately, didn’t think to bring anything to eat for Miss Smoak.”

“Felicity’s got a Big Belly Burger order on the way for herself, but I only asked for some onion rings since I wasn’t hungry at the time… this salad looks amazing,” he admits.

It’s one of Raisa’s greatest creations, a sweetcorn and avocado salad with tomatoes, mozzarella pearls, basil, and arugula. Oliver has never tried it with avocado before - that’s certainly a new ingredient. He hasn’t eaten avocado at al before, he doesn’t think. It was one of those foods that started becoming popular with the masses while he was on the island. 

“We worry about you, Oliver, you know,” Moira says, a look of concern passing over her face. “You’re working too hard. You barely come home anymore, and if you do, it’s always well past midnight - sometimes the early hours of the morning. You can’t be getting more than three hours of sleep a night.”

It’s usually one or two, actually, but he’s not going to tell them that. And he’s not at home all that often because he’s out doing Arrow duties and patrols most nights. A lot of the time, after he gets back to the Foundry and showers, he ends up crashing on one of the training mats or sleeping on Felicity’s couch, since her apartment is much closer than the Queen mansion due to its location in the Glades. “Mom, I’m okay, I promise. I’m getting enough sleep.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Thea replies, a light scoff in her voice. “You look like you’re about to pass out. You’ve got permanent black bags under your eyes.”

“Thea, I’m _fine_.”

“Are you still getting nightmares?” his mother abruptly asks.

Oliver blinks. “I’m sorry?”

“When you first returned from the island, you struggled to sleep because of -”

“Mom,” the archer cuts her off firmly. “Whether or not I’m having nightmares is not relevant. I am sleeping perfectly well and I am not overworking myself, I promise. If anybody around here is overworking themselves, it’s Felicity. I don’t come home until after midnight because a lot of the time, the two of us stay here working late.” He points down at the food they brought him. “Do you mind if I start on this?”

Thea nods at him to go ahead, and then together, his mother and sister continue lecturing him about driving himself too hard, burn-out and stress. Oliver pretends to listen as he focuses in on his salad. Cutlery has even been provided, so he digs out the container and begins eating. After a couple of bites, the archer realizes he’s actually ravenous; he worked out at the Foundry for a good two hours before picking Felicity up for work, and he only had one of the emergency granola bars they keep in the small kitchenette for breakfast.

As he shovels the food in his mouth, however, his throat slowly starts closing up, his lips feeling strangely swollen and tingly, before they turn numb. It becomes increasingly difficult for Oliver to breathe; his chest feels like it’s been stuffed full of cotton, making it hard for oxygen to pass into his lungs. Dizziness washes over him. His eyes watering and mind swimming, Oliver wonders with a fleeting wave of panic if he’s somehow been poisoned, or drugged.

“Ollie?” Thea asks nervously, when he curls his hands into fists. “You okay?”

He chokes, and blacks out. Oliver feels himself topple sideways onto the floor, his head feeling like a sledgehammer is being pounded into his skull, and hears his mother and sister shout his name in alarm. Hands grasp at him frantically but he flinches away from them, desperately forcing as much air as he can through his throat before his airways swell up completely and he starts to suffocate. It feels very much like drowning in deep, highly pressurized water. Moira and Thea attempt to roll him over, but he flails his limbs - he wants and needs help, but at the same time, he doesn’t want anybody touching him while he’s in this terrified, agitated state.

He’s scared - no, not just scared. Oliver’s _petrified_. He doesn’t want to die.

Oliver hears somebody call for him to open his eyes, and since the voice is so much calmer than the others, he manages to pry them open. His vision is blurry, but bright blonde hair, reflective glasses and fuschia pink lipstick flashes in front of him.

_Fe-li-ci-ty_, he tries to wheeze.

There’s a quick, sharp stabbing pain in his thigh, like he’s been pricked harshly with something. He weakly attempts to push whatever is hurting him away, but a warm, gentle hand takes hold of his, squeezing it to provide comfort. It has to be Felicity’s. Slowly, the swelling in his throat begins to go down, making it easier to breathe, and he gasps for oxygen like he’s a man dying from being deprived of it - which he pretty much is. Oliver feels like something crossed between ice and fire was rushing through his body, scorching his veins and arteries. His heartbeat thuds in his ears, incredibly fast but at least it’s strong.

“An ambulance is on the way. Thea called 911. Oliver, if you can hear me, you had an allergic reaction to something in your salad and started going into anaphylactic shock,” he listens to Felicity say, sounding remarkably composed and confident. “I was able to use my Epi-pen on you within the first minute of your reaction, and it seems most of your allergy symptoms have faded for now, but we still need to get you to a hospital for proper treatment, alright?” He tries to nod, but must fail, because she doesn’t say anything about it. Instead, the blonde addresses Moira, “Is there anything in that salad he might not have eaten before, that he wouldn’t have known he’s allergic too?”

“I don’t think he’s ever had avocado before,” his mother responds. In stark contrast to Felicity, Moira sounds shaken and distressed.

“Okay, make sure to mention that to the paramedics,” Felicity tells her. “Oliver, I’m going to move you now so you’re half lying down with your head elevated. I want you to tap me or try and give a signal if you start struggling to breathe again. I might have to use another Epi-pen on you in five minutes if your symptoms don’t improve. I’ve texted Diggle to grab some Benadryl from a first-aid kit, and we’ll need you to take that too.”

“Why aren’t you freaking out?” Thea questions, her voice trembling. “How are you _not freaking out?_”

“I’m severely allergic to tree nuts,” Felicity huffs. “Sadly, I’ve suffered from anaphylaxis many times. Thea, Moira, as hard as it’s going to be for you both, I’m going to need you to back away from Oliver once he’s supine. He doesn’t react well when people stand over him - it’s an island thing. He hates multiple people touching him at once, too. We don’t want to trigger a panic attack while he’s still having an allergic reaction.”

“Oliver doesn’t have panic attacks,” his mother denies, confused.

Now Felicity is the one to sound bemused as she responds, “Yeah, he does. Maybe you haven’t noticed them before? He doesn’t have typical panic attacks, where he hyperventilates... He gets all spacey and blank, and tries to force himself to be emotionless, and then gets anxious and irritable. He snaps and growls defensively, while twitching and rubbing his fingers together.”

Oliver has to admit, even in his dazed, half-conscious condition, that Felicity knows him almost too well.

“But that’s - that’s all the time,” Thea splutters.

“He gets them often, yeah,” Felicity agrees, as she carefully shifts Oliver down onto the floor, which is freezing cold through his clothes and weirdly grounding. She cradles the archer’s head tenderly in her lap, to make sure his airways are clear. “It’s becoming easier to break him out of them, though. Right, Oliver? You’re improving.” She strokes her fingers through his hair in a soothing motion. “Oh - looks like the ambulance is here. That was fast. Oliver, I’m going to stay by your side the whole time, and your mom and sister will be with us as well. If it starts to become too much for you, just give the signal and I’ll ask the paramedics to give you a break.”

He gives a minute nod in response, trying to tighten his hand around Felicity’s even though his muscles don’t feel like they’re responding to his brain signals at all. It must work, however, as the blonde gives him a brilliant smile and brushes her thumb over his cheek.

Oliver ends up spending a couple of hours in Starling General on an epinephrine drip, but they finally release him with some powerful antihistamine pills to take for the next day, in case of a delayed allergic reaction. He’s banned from eating anything with avocado in it, and avocado in general, for the rest of his life. They’ve taken blood so they can test how severe his allergy is, and their family doctor gives Oliver a pack of three Epi-pens to keep on him, in case he accidentally eats something with avocado in it.

The entire time he’s lying on the hospital bed, Felicity remains by his side. Diggle comes and hangs out with them as well, teasingly complaining that he’s meant to protect Oliver from a lot of things as his bodyguard, but it’s rather hard to protect him from avocados. Moira and Thea both stay at the hospital with them as well, but are seemingly amazed by how casual and comfortable the archer is with his executive assistant and bodyguard, treating them more like his best friends than employees. That’s because they _are_ his best friends; Oliver doesn’t expect his family to understand that, though, and they have no idea how close the three of them have grown because of shared Team Arrow business.

“Thank you for saving my life,” Oliver tells Felicity seriously, his voice more of a croak than anything else, still sore after the anaphylaxis. Lowering his voice, he adds, “Again.”

“Please don’t die on me,” she requests, equally as serious. “If you want to show me some appreciation for helping out, you can promise me you’ll never touch a stupid damn avocado again.”

“Avocados are evil,” the archer nods. “They are the death fruit.”

Felicity laughs softly and kisses his forehead. Her hot lips against his skin cause Oliver to shiver, and he stares up at her in awe and gratitude. Much to his disappointment, the blonde moves away from his side so Thea can take her place, getting to support her brother. “Yes, they are. Don’t you dare come into the office tomorrow, Oliver. I’ll get Dig to take you straight home if you take a single step into QC. You need to rest up and heal.”

“Miss Smoak is right,” Moira agrees, from her seat on his other side. “You need time to recover.”

“I can’t take time off, Felicity,” he shakes his head. “There’s so much work to be done -”

“- that you don’t need to worry about, until you’re back on your feet,” she interrupts, hitting him with a stern, half-hearted glare. “We only had three department proposals left to read today, and I can finish reading them without you and give you the CliffNotes versions.”

“You’re incredible,” Oliver smiles. “But I’ll feel bad if you don’t get your iced caramel latte every morning.”

“You’ve been getting me coffee every day for two months now, Oliver, I think I’ll survive a week without them,” she laughs.

Felicity departs then, leaving Oliver with a sinking feeling in his chest. He wishes she would stay longer, as he always feels more relaxed with her, especially when he’s with other people, but he knows she’s got other things to do - Felicity will be going to the Foundry tonight to sort out her scanning algorithms.

“Since when does the CEO get their secretary coffee?” Moira asks, bewildered. “Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”

Oliver doesn’t know how to explain, and luckily doesn’t have to. Diggle pipes up from where he’s leaning against the wall, “It’s a running joke between them, Mrs Queen, even I don’t fully understand it.”

“It’s cute,” Thea decides. “And it’s probably good you’ve been getting her coffee, because it means she likes you, and that’s the reason she saved your life.”

“Felicity is a good person,” the archer says, without an ounce of doubt. “She would have saved my life whether she liked me or not.”

His thought is only assured when Oliver finds out, upon arriving back at QC several days later, that Felicity has issued a company-wide warning that avocado in any form is no longer permitted in any part of the building.

Thea thinks it’s adorable, when Oliver tells his sister and mother about it at family dinner that night. “She cares about you, a lot.”

“Yes.” Moira does not appear as pleased as Thea about this. “She does.”

“I care about her a lot too,” Oliver replies honestly.

Oliver and Felicity… allergic to avocados and tree nuts. They make quite the pair.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed, thank you for reading!
> 
> twitter: @lexiblackbriar  
tumblr: @alexiablackbriar13


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